Infra Insight Blog

Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) officials executed a comprehensive development agreement (CDA) with the LBJ Infrastructure Group to design, construct, finance, operate and maintain the 13-mile LBJ-635 corridor in Dallas County. Following the North Tarrant Express (June 2009), the LBJ-635 is TxDOT’s second toll concession to reach commercial close this year.

Construction is expected to begin by mid-2011 and open to traffic in late 2016. Motorists will have a choice of either using the managed toll lanes or remaining on the improved and rebuilt free main lanes. The new LBJ  highway will feature the following improvements:

• 8 rebuilt free main lanes (a foot wider than they are now)
• Additional shoulders on the outside of the main lanes
• Continuous frontage roads (two or three lanes wide)
• 6 barrier-separated managed toll lanes located between or below all frontage roads

For a state investment of approximately $445 million, these improvements will provide $4 billion of needed infrastructure to the Dallas area, as well as operations and maintenance over the next 52 years.

The financing plan for the project through project completion includes a combination fo senior bank debt, private activity bonds, a subordinated TIFIA loan and a sizeable equity contribution.

LBJ Infrastrucure Group is a limited liability corporation consisting of:

• Cintra, Concesiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte, S.A (Equity Owner)
• Ferrovial Agroman, S.A.
• W.W. Webber LLC
• Bridgefarmer & Associates, Inc.
• Meridiam Infrastructure Finance (Equity Owner)
• Macquarie Capital (USA) Inc.
• Ferrovial Infraestructuras S.A
• Grupo Ferrovial
• Meridiam Infrastructure, S.C.A. SICAR
• Dallas Police and Fire Pension System (Equity Partner)

The presence of the Dallas Police and Fire Pension System within the group is notable as further evidence of public pension funds’ interest in making direct investments in transportation infrastructure.